Ferreira acquitted in '69 killing

Two co-defendants still face charges in McCabe case

WOBURN -- After one of three men accused of murdering 15-year-old John McCabe was cleared of charges Friday, the McCabe family will continue to wait for answers in the boy's death 43 years ago.

Michael Ferreira, 59, of Salem, N.H., was found not guilty of first-degree murder in the Sept. 26, 1969, slaying of the Tewksbury boy after a two-week trial in which a Middlesex Superior Court jury deliberated for about eight hours over two days.

After the verdict, Ferreira showed no emotion as he left the courthouse with his family and his attorneys.

Co-counsel attorney Stanley Norkunas described Ferreira as a "happy guy" now that the weight of the murder charge has been lifted from his shoulders.

Despite being cleared of the murder, Wilson said, Ferreira still feels for the McCabe family and the loss of their son.

Outside the courthouse, McCabe's sisters, Roberta Donovan and Debbie Atamanchuk, said they were upset by the verdict.

"The last 43 years has been a nightmare for our family," Atamanchuk said, reading from a statement. "Our family wasn't looking for revenge. We were looking for justice."

Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone declined to comment after the verdict, saying Ferreira is still facing a perjury charge for allegedly lying to the grand jury probing the murder and Ferreira's two co-defendants are still facing charges.

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In a prepared statement, Leone said, "We appreciate the challenges of trying a homicide case 43 years after the killing occurred, however we make decisions on the facts and law, and feel that we have built a strong and solid case against all three defendants that withstands our high burdens of proof and persuasion."

Several years ago, Lowell police initiated its "cold case" unit to reinvestigate unsolved cases. Ferreira and co-defendant Walter Shelley, 61, of Tewksbury, were suspects in the original investigation. In April 2011, they were arrested along with Edward Allan Brown, 61, of Londonderry, N.H., and charged in connection with the murder.

When Shelley and Ferreira were initially interviewed after the murder, they gave conflicting statements to police about their activities that night, prosecutors said.

Prosecutor Thomas O'Reilly had alleged that on the night of the murder, McCabe was walking home from a school dance at the Knights of Columbus in Tewksbury when three Tewksbury teenagers -- Ferreira, Shelley and Brown -- kidnapped him. They drove to a vacant lot in Lowell, where McCabe was hogtied with rope around his ankles, wrists and neck, and his eyes and his mouth were taped shut. McCabe was left still bound and gagged, struggling against his ropes.

As the three teens walked away, they taunted McCabe by yelling, "That's what you get for messing with Marla," prosecutors allege.

But when the three friends returned to the field, McCabe was dead. The state medical examiner ruled McCabe died from asphyxiation due to strangulation.

Brown cut a deal with prosecutors for a manslaughter plea with no jail time in exchange for his testimony. Brown became a key prosecution witness, telling police the plan was to teach McCabe a lesson for flirting with Shelley's girlfriend, Marla Shiner.

Wilson attacked Brown's testimony during the trial, accusing police and prosecutors of feeding him information so he could craft a story that fit their "jealousy theory" as a motive for the murder. He said he believes the jury didn't find Brown's testimony credible.

Wilson also presented testimony from a forensic pathologist that McCabe was not hogtied, which made the prosecution's jealousy theory unravel. And the defense attorney suggested police overlooked or ignored other possible suspects to focus on the three friends.

When asked who he thought killed McCabe, Wilson said, "We have no idea." He added, that based on the pages of reports and other evidence he poured through as part of this case, "I don't believe any of them had anything to do with it."

As for the perjury charge still pending against Ferreira, Wilson said it is moot.

Leone said prosecutors are now preparing to try Shelley for first-degree murder. No date has been set for that trial.

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